Hundreds of swimmers are diving in to make waves in the fight against cancer at the 17th annual Swim Across America Fairfield County open water swim, held on Saturday, June 24th, in Long Island Sound.
Swimmers swim a half-mile, 1.5-miles or 3-miles to raise funds for Swim Across America Fairfield County’s local beneficiary Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy. Land and water volunteers also participate and hundreds of spectators line the water’s edge cheering on their friends and family members taking the plunge for this important cause.
This year, Darien, Connecticut, resident Marjorie (Marj) Trifone, head coach of the Darien High School Blue Wave Swim Team, and members of the swim team, are diving in and swimming in honor of family and friends who have battled cancer. This is the 10th year Marj and her team have participated in this open water event to help raise money for cancer research.
“I swim because my mother was a cancer survivor,” said Marj Trifone. “She had Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and underwent an experimental bone-marrow transplant in 1988 at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and then went on to live 21 more years!!!”
Marj and her family went through a challenging time as her mother bravely battled cancer. This experience is what gives Marj the drive and purpose to swim with the Blue Wave Swim and Dive for Swim Across America Fairfield County – for family and friends still who have battled or are still struggling with the disease.
“I swim with my team to show the purpose of swimming outside competition and to show that little actions like swimming, can have a big impact on so many others,” said Trifone.
Trifone also noted that her team swims under the Blue Wave Swim and Dive name.
“Swimming is what we do, so I feel it is a wonderful event to be involved with for swimmers,” said Trifone. “It shows them the other side of swimming not just for competition but for helping others. Alumni come back and swim too. Also some young swimmers from Middlesex Club, where I coach in the summer who will soon be Darien High Blue Wave swimmers, are also swimming.”
Funds raised by Swim Across America Fairfield County go directly to support scientific cancer gene therapy grants administered by the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy. Swim Across America Fairfield County has specifically raised $5 million over the past 16 years. This year’s swim supports three Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy research fellows funded by Swim Across America Fairfield County who are using the funds to find better and more effective cancer treatments using cell and gene therapy.
The scientists are Sidi Chen, PhD, of Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Genetics, Systems Biology Institute and Cancer Center, working on a novel CRISPR-based immune gene therapy for pancreatic cancer; Brian Brown, PhD, with the Icahn Genomics Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York who is equipping a patient’s own T cells to kill cancer cells in tumors, specifically working on lung cancer, with the hope the work translates to other types of cancer; and Juan Fueyo, MD, with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center department of Neuro-Oncology-Research and Division of Cancer Medicine, who is using his grant to develop novel gene therapy strategies for the treatment of malignant gliomas (brain cancer).
Swim Across America’s funding of clinical trials on a national level has helped contribute to four FDA approved life-saving immunotherapy cancer treatments: Yervoy, Opdivo, Tecentriq and Keytruda. Just last summer, the very exciting news about a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering was published in The New England Journal of Medicine that showed a 100 percent success rate in treating patients in a phase 2 clinical trial for advanced rectal cancer with dostarlimab, an immunotherapy treatment produced by GlaxoSmithKline. The clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering was funded by early-stage grant funding from Swim Across America.
Swim Across America was founded in 1987 by Darien, Connecticut, resident Matt Vossler and held its first open water event in Long Island Sound off the shores of Connecticut. Since that time, the nonprofit organization has raised more than $100 million to fight cancer. In its 36 years of making waves to fight cancer, more than 100,000 swimmers and 150 Olympians have swum the circumference of the earth three times, uniting a movement to fight cancer that has created a groundswell of support spanning all generations. Today, more than 24 communities hold open water swims and hundreds of charity pool swims each year, from Nantucket to under the Golden Gate Bridge, which support innovative cancer research, detection and patient programs.
To learn more about Swim Across America Fairfield County or to register to swim, volunteer or donate, visit swimacrossamerica.org/fc.
About Swim Across America
Swim Across America, Inc. (SAA) is dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention and treatment through swimming-related events. With the help of hundreds of volunteers nationwide and past and current Olympians, Swim Across America is helping find a cure for cancer through athleticism, community outreach and direct service. To learn more visit swimacrossamerica.org/fc or follow on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @SAAFairfieldCo or email nancycarr@swimacrossamerica.org.
— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with Swim Across America. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.